Six spring cleaning tips for weight loss

When you’re faced with spring cleaning, do you find yourself going wrist-deep into a bag of chips? If half of your closet is sprinkled around your room or your dining room resembles a mail-sorting facility, then your weight loss goals could be suffering from clutter-fueled stress eating and junk-food cop-outs.

“When you can’t find your car keys, it stresses you out; when you can’t locate any item that you know you own, it frustrates you,” said Peter Walsh, organizational expert and author of the new book, “Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight: The Six-Week Total-Life Slim Down.” And when your environment and mood are out of sorts, it can be harder for your body to stay slim. In fact, a recent Yale study found the stress hormone cortisol may contribute to central (read: belly) fat, and discovered a link between stress and an increased risk of disease.

For “Lose the Clutter,” Walsh ran a test-panel with 25 people who had both clutter and weight issues. The six-week test involved a de-cluttering and organizing assignment, an exercise program, a food plan and a mindfulness practice. The results? Participants lost an average of 10 pounds and reduced their average waist size by 3 inches and their average hip size by 2.5 inches.

Ready to clean up your act? Walsh’s expert de-cluttering tips can help you clean up your home, cut back on stress eating and gain t…………… continues on The Olympian

Spring cleaning: Everybody has to do it, but who among us really looks forward to it?

From purging items that are no longer useful to priming your laundry strategy for the freshest linens possible, the following tips from lifestyle experts will help streamline the spring cleaning experience into an easy weekend event.

1. Don’t Get Overwhelmed — Do Get Strategic

“Take a step back and look at the big picture,” Abby Larson, founder and editor of Style Me Pretty Living, told ABC News. “Assess the areas of your house that are constantly messy to see if you can find a way to solve each area. If you never put the